New African Coca-Cola company gets going

THE African Coca-Cola operation unbundled from SABMiller started operating on Monday.

The merger of SABMiller’s nonalcoholic beverage businesses with those of The Coca-Cola Company and Gutsche Family Investments, to form Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), was officially completed on Friday after gaining all necessary approvals from various competition authorities, SABMiller said in a statement on Monday.

The new company would produce and distribute about 40% of all Coca-Cola beverage volumes in Africa and was the 10th-largest Coca-Cola bottler worldwide, the statement said.

It will initially serve 11 high-growth countries, which will increase to a total of 14 countries.

"CCBA is headquartered in SA, and it will manufacture and sell 40 still and sparkling brands from more than 30 African bottling plants," the statement said.

"The creation of CCBA will provide a stronger, more successful Coca-Cola system in Africa, and create greater shared value for the business and the communities we serve across the value-chain, including local suppliers and retailers," Coca-Cola Beverages Africa CEO Doug Jackson said in the statement.

"We will also seek to be a critical part of our customers’ growth strategies and invest substantially in our people and in their growth and development to build both capacity and capability."

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